blue bag part two

Buddy. Buddy would be home in half an hour and she had not gotten his beer at the store. It was his one treat. A beer with dinner. The six pack lasted him a week and he never complained. She was just about to run out the door to grab him some beer when her cell phone rang. Buddy would be late. One of his friends needed to talk and was taking him out for a beer after work. Usually this would not have made Mandy very happy because she knew that two men sitting at a bar could not stop with one beer but tonight it gave her some time to think. She was surprised that she could sound normal on the phone. She went back to the bag. She counted it again. Her hands still shook. Where would she put this? How could she hide this from her husband? Her family? Her friends? She had no idea. She looked around her room for a place to hide the bag. She put it under the mattress and pulled it back out again. She looked in the closet and shook her head. The bathroom was too small. Why was she in this position? Why had she picked up the bag? She thought about driving straight back to the grocery store and handing it to the manager. And tell him what? Mandy thought to herself. That you were stealing it and then changed your mind? No. They needed the money. She could not see giving it away. She still half expected a patrol car to pull up in front of her house. Surely someone had seen her. She knew she had to get a hold of herself. She finally went to the hall closet and found their suitcases. Great idea. She knew they would not be going anywhere any time soon. She put the blue bag into the biggest one in the back and went to take a shower. Mandy felt much better. Her hair was wet and she was in her sweats. She managed to whip together some homemade macaroni and cheese and salad. She set them aside because she had no idea when Buddy would find his way home. She turned on the news. She kept expecting to see her face on some grainy surveillance video but there was nothing.